FAYETTEVILLE  There is another memorial to the architect of modern-day athletics at the University of Arkansas.

With the athletics department's headquarters and the field at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium already donning his name, longtime UA football coach and athletics director Frank Broyles helped unveil a statue of himself at a ceremony Friday morning.

The statue, which weighs more than 700 pounds, is located on the steps of the Broyles Athletic Center. It was designed by Dr. Gary Renegar and resembles Broyles' likeness during his 19-year career as football coach. It is the second statue dedicated on the UA campus and first since one of former U.S. Senator William Fulbright was placed in front of Old Main in 2002.

Broyles Statue

Hundreds of dignitaries, family members and friends gathered in front of the Broyles Athletic Center on Friday morning for the dedication of a statue honoring former University of Arkansas head football coach and athletic director Frank Broyles. The statue stands seven and a half feet and weighs more than 700 pounds. Dr. Gary Renegar sculpted the statue based on photos of Coach Broyles during his 19-year coaching career at the University of Arkansas.
(By David Gottschalk)
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UA chancellor G. David Gearhart, athletics director Jeff Long and former Razorbacks football coach and player Ken Hatfield spoke at the event, which was held a little more than three hours before Arkansas' season finale against LSU.

Broyles, 87, retired as the Razorbacks' athletics director at the end of 2007. He has served as a fundraiser for the Razorback Foundation, a fundraising entity for UA athletics programs, since his retirement.

After coming to Arkansas in December 1957 as football coach, Broyles won a record 144 games. In 1964, the Razorbacks finished 11-0 and won the school's only national championship in football.

Broyles' teams came within one win of winning additional championships in 1965 and 1969. He won seven Southwest Conference championships during his tenure and was named the league's coach of the year six times.

He replaced John Barnhill as the UA's athletics director in 1973. During his tenure, the Razorbacks won 43 national championships and 105 conference titles in men's sports and he oversaw the construction of all existing athletic facilities on the UA campus by helping raise more than $215 million.

Broyles is a member of at least seven halls of fame, including the College Football Hall of Fame, Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, University of Arkansas Hall of Honor, Georgia Tech Hall of Fame, Cotton Bowl Classic Hall of Fame, Orange Bowl Hall of Fame and Gator Bowl Hall of Fame.

Discussion

Matt Jones

Matt Jones is the online sports director for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. A double graduate of the University of Arkansas, he is a member of the Football Writers Association of America and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, and voter for the Heisman Trophy and Biletnikoff Award.